Corporate Sustainability Has Failed: Digitizing Regeneration May Still Save Us

Simon Schillebeeckx
Simon Schillebeeckx proposes a focus on regeneration as a way for small carbon footprint firms (e.g., consulting, financial services firms) to make a positive sustainability impact. He highlights that service industry firms can proactively contribute to the regeneration of common pool resources, such as forests and lakes, which often become neglected or overused. What makes regeneration different compared to more traditional donations to a conservation nonprofit is the use of digital technology that enables an organization to lay claim to the eco­system benefits it generates through its support. The digitization of benefits claims provides a transparent accounting system for environmental benefits. Schillebeeckx explains how transparency and accountability can lay the foundation for firms to work together to preserve and restore common pool resources.

A Framework for Environmentally Friendly AI

Rohit Nishant, Thompson S.H. Teo
Rohit Nishant and Thompson S.H. Teo explore the environmental impact of AI and ML. Specifically, the applications where these technologies add the most value are those that require heterogenous data in complex settings (e.g., optimizing smart cities, modeling climate change). In the process of creating value, these large AI and ML models require energy-intensive computing, leaving a huge carbon foot­print. To counteract these concerns, Nishant and Teo offer the “Align, Reduce, Measure” (ARM) framework for mitigating the environmental impact of AI and ML algorithms. The framework encompasses the organiz­ational structure, addresses data heterogeneity, and measures results to create accountability.

A Framework for Environmentally Friendly AI

Rohit Nishant, Thompson S.H. Teo
Rohit Nishant and Thompson S.H. Teo explore the environmental impact of AI and ML. Specifically, the applications where these technologies add the most value are those that require heterogenous data in complex settings (e.g., optimizing smart cities, modeling climate change). In the process of creating value, these large AI and ML models require energy-intensive computing, leaving a huge carbon foot­print. To counteract these concerns, Nishant and Teo offer the “Align, Reduce, Measure” (ARM) framework for mitigating the environmental impact of AI and ML algorithms. The framework encompasses the organiz­ational structure, addresses data heterogeneity, and measures results to create accountability.

Greener Software Development Strategy: Why, How, and Why Not?

Jacek Chmiel
Jacek Chmiel draws attention to the increasing energy consumption by the electronic devices integrated into our daily lives. In addition to the ubiquitous mobile devices we all carry around, there are billions of devices, not to mention back-end servers, all of which consume energy. Exacerbating this problem are ML and distributed ledger technol­ogies, such as blockchain, that require intensive computing cycles, and use even more energy. The good news is that a greener software development strategy can have significant impact on energy usage of electronic devices. Chmiel explains the challenges to implementing this strategy and how organizations can overcome them.

Greener Software Development Strategy: Why, How, and Why Not?

Jacek Chmiel
Jacek Chmiel draws attention to the increasing energy consumption by the electronic devices integrated into our daily lives. In addition to the ubiquitous mobile devices we all carry around, there are billions of devices, not to mention back-end servers, all of which consume energy. Exacerbating this problem are ML and distributed ledger technol­ogies, such as blockchain, that require intensive computing cycles, and use even more energy. The good news is that a greener software development strategy can have significant impact on energy usage of electronic devices. Chmiel explains the challenges to implementing this strategy and how organizations can overcome them.

AI for a Greener, Sustainable World

Curt Hall
Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant Curt Hall presents intriguing examples of how corporations and governments use AI and compatible technologies to move us toward a more sustainable world. He explains how many companies are using AI to reduce the energy consumption of … AI(!) and other digital technologies. He illustrates innovative technology-based solutions being developed for tracking carbon emissions and presents a selection of companies targeting key infra­structure areas for carbon reduction initiatives (e.g., data centers, transportation, waste management).

AI for a Greener, Sustainable World

Curt Hall
Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant Curt Hall presents intriguing examples of how corporations and governments use AI and compatible technologies to move us toward a more sustainable world. He explains how many companies are using AI to reduce the energy consumption of … AI(!) and other digital technologies. He illustrates innovative technology-based solutions being developed for tracking carbon emissions and presents a selection of companies targeting key infra­structure areas for carbon reduction initiatives (e.g., data centers, transportation, waste management).

What the Quantum Bit Makes Possible

Joseph Byrum
This Advisor explores the main function of the quantum bit (qubit), how qubits enable exponential scaling, and how quantum computing is being utilized in the real world, from hybrid approaches to experimenting with development kits.

Sustainability & Technology: Building Innovative Solutions — Opening Statement

Deishin Lee
A challenge we face today is how to leverage technology to move us toward a more sustainable future, while mitigating its own impact. This issue of Cutter Business Technology Journal explores the dual sides of the technology sword — the potential for environmental benefit and harm — and, in true karmic spirit, how technology can help itself be more sustainable.

Sustainability & Technology: Building Innovative Solutions — Opening Statement

Deishin Lee
A challenge we face today is how to leverage technology to move us toward a more sustainable future, while mitigating its own impact. This issue of Cutter Business Technology Journal explores the dual sides of the technology sword — the potential for environmental benefit and harm — and, in true karmic spirit, how technology can help itself be more sustainable.

How Tech Can Tackle Hunger: An Interview with FAO’s CIO

Cutter Consortium, Dejan Jakovljevic
Cutter Consortium conducted an interview with Dejan Jakovljevic, CIO and Director of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on how FAO uses technology to reduce world hunger. Jakovljevic tells us how FAO has embraced digital technologies to not only improve its own internal processes but also to develop tools for its members. He explains how FAO transformed from a traditional sequential project management process to a nimble, risk-taking process better suited to addressing the needs of our rapidly changing world.

How Tech Can Tackle Hunger: An Interview with FAO’s CIO

Cutter Consortium, Dejan Jakovljevic
Cutter Consortium conducted an interview with Dejan Jakovljevic, CIO and Director of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on how FAO uses technology to reduce world hunger. Jakovljevic tells us how FAO has embraced digital technologies to not only improve its own internal processes but also to develop tools for its members. He explains how FAO transformed from a traditional sequential project management process to a nimble, risk-taking process better suited to addressing the needs of our rapidly changing world.

When Good Data Goes Bad, Part V

Barry Devlin
There are particular business behaviors that actively poison data or degrade data quality. Although not their intention, it’s the direct consequence of how these activities are performed. This Advisor takes a close look at the concept of self-service and how it contributes to the problem of data poisoning.

Looking to CPaaS for Cohesive Market Structure

Christoph Uferer, Lars Riegel, Sean McDevitt, Arvind Rajeswaran
In this Executive Update, we explore how communications-platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) allows businesses to develop and manage communications features without needing to develop and maintain the infrastructure on the back end of the service. CPaaS makes it easier than ever for companies to create differentiating customer communications experiences while promising to reduce costs and speed up innovation.

Looking to CPaaS for Cohesive Market Structure

Christoph Uferer, Lars Riegel, Sean McDevitt, Arvind Rajeswaran
In this Executive Update, we explore how communications-platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) allows businesses to develop and manage communications features without needing to develop and maintain the infrastructure on the back end of the service. CPaaS makes it easier than ever for companies to create differentiating customer communications experiences while promising to reduce costs and speed up innovation.

DEI Leadership in Action

Damon Carter
The Technology in Business Schools Roundtable (TBSr) is a global organization composed of technology leaders who are responsible for managing IT in business schools across the US and Canada. This Advisor outlines several clear examples of how the TBSr board of directors effectively applied four DEI leadership actions to initiate their own journey.

The Role of Business Architecture in Software Design

William Ulrich
Discover why holistic, formally defined, and highly rationalized business abstractions are vital to the success of software design and related IT deliverables.

The Difference Between Successful and Failed Technology Initiatives

Anjali Kaushik
Resistance to change is the primary reason why so many good ideas fail. Thus, it is critical to have user involvement throughout the scope definition and process redesign. Discover how an effective communication strategy between top management and users makes all the difference during project initiatives.

The Difference Between Successful and Failed Technology Initiatives

Anjali Kaushik
Resistance to change is the primary reason why so many good ideas fail. Thus, it is critical to have user involvement throughout the scope definition and process redesign. Discover how an effective communication strategy between top management and users makes all the difference during project initiatives.

Lessons in Risk Management: Using KRIs to Avert Disaster

Hannah Marsden, Kerri McGowan, Clive Adams
This Executive Update draws from the lessons of the Boeing MAX groundings to illustrate the importance of selecting, monitoring, and acting upon risk indicators to preemptively manage risk, as well as providing opportunities to reduce total cost of risk, improve financial performance, and assure stakeholders that risk is being addressed on a controlled and informed basis.

Lessons in Risk Management: Using KRIs to Avert Disaster

Hannah Marsden, Kerri McGowan, Clive Adams
This Executive Update draws from the lessons of the Boeing MAX groundings to illustrate the importance of selecting, monitoring, and acting upon risk indicators to preemptively manage risk, as well as providing opportunities to reduce total cost of risk, improve financial performance, and assure stakeholders that risk is being addressed on a controlled and informed basis.

Making Better Business Decisions with Dynamic Deep Learning

Bhuvan Unhelkar
Dynamic Deep Learning (DDL) provides business value by enabling instant decision making. When analytics on streaming data is incorporated into everyday decision making along with traditional analytics of static data, businesses can discover greater opportunities and identify risks in advance. Discover the business value of DDL in this Advisor.

To Keep or Not to Keep Data?

Frank Contrepois
Keeping data is often presented as a no-brainer, even if you don’t know what to do with the data. But data is complicated and can be unreliable and wrong. This Advisor explores the drivers to save data, the drivers to not do anything with the data after saving it, and the complexities of making data-driven decisions.

Where Are Retailers Applying IPA?

Curt Hall
According to a Cutter Consortium survey examining IPA adoption in the enterprise, organizations rank retail as the sixth leading industry in which IPA will have its most significant impact. Retailers are applying robotic process automation (RPA) and other process automation tools bolstered with machine learning (ML), predictive analytics, and computer vision to a number of applications and domains. This Advisor explores how these tools help make their supply chains more flexible, revitalize the retail shopping experience, and boost customer satisfaction in both online and in-store scenarios.

Nine Key Lessons Learned from Steve Jobs, When Good Data Goes Bad, more.

Cutter Consortium
This edition of The Cutter Edge identifies the nine lessons embodied by Steve Jobs that helped him create a lasting legacy, considers why the IT industry continues to perpetuate the spread of disinformation, and more!